ATTEND THE TALE OF SWEENEY TODD AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL; The butchering barber now accepting appointments at the Festival Theatre

ATTEND THE TALE OF SWEENEY TODD AT THE
SHAW FESTIVAL

– The butchering barber now accepting appointments at the Festival Theatre –

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (July 18, 2016) — Jackie Maxwell concludes her 14-year tenure as the Shaw Festival’s Artistic Director with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller, by legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. Previews of her production of this compelling musical thriller, with its unusual take on the notion of “eat or be eaten”, began its limited run July 17 – with additional matinees already added for October 18 and 19.

Judith Bowden’s set and costumes, based on striking images of industrial London, and lighting design by Alan Brodie create a visually haunting continuum between the dimly lit ambiance of 19th-century and contemporary London. Musical director Paul Sportelli conducts the brilliantly complex musical score and sound design by John Lott completes the Fleet Street soundscape. Valerie Moore’s choreography interprets and re-imagines the movement of this world.

Exiled for 15 years from family and foe, Sweeney Todd (Benedict Campbell) – a barber by trade – returns to London with the assistance of young sailor Anthony Hope (Jeff Irving). Unbeknowst to them, they are about to become inextricably linked in a tale of love and vengeance with Johanna (Kristi Frank), a beautiful girl, under the care of a corrupt judge (Marcus Nance), who sings through her barred window; a beggar woman with a mysterious secret (Patty Jamieson) and Mrs. Lovett (Corrine Koslo), an irrepressible pie-maker, who puts Sweeney on an irrevocable road to revenge.

About Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – A Musical Thriller
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson and Martin Richards
In association with Dean and Judy Manos

The Shaw Festival is a theatre company inspired by the work of Bernard Shaw. The Festival produces plays from and about his era along with contemporary plays that share Shaw’s provocative exploration of society and celebration of humanity.